The lawsuit claims
that Dow concealed from employees the risks of manufacturing the herbicide.
Evidence in the complaint states that Tordon "was known to cause
illness and disease to humans, and that airborne contaminants were being
released into the air and exposed to plaintiffs." Exposure to the
chemical occurred during employment 25 to 55 years ago.

Tordon contains the
active ingredient picloram.
Dow used Tordon and 2,4-D to make Agent White, which the U.S. military
sprayed to clear jungles and forests during the Vietnam War similar to
Agent Orange.

The herbicide is
used for general woody plant control, broad-leaf weed control, and range
management. A handful of Tordon products remain registered with the EPA,
most of which are approved for restricted use only.
While picloram, which has been linked to liver damage, is the active ingredient
in Tordon, some Tordon products also contain 2,4-D, which is linked to
cancer, endocrine (hormonal) disruption, and neurotoxicity, among other
health effects. The Tordon manufacturing process also involves additional
chemical exposure.

"For people
involved in manufacturing the chemical, they're not only exposed to the
chemical, but to the chemicals that make it," said Carolyn Cox, staff
scientist with the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
(NCAP).
Picloram contains hexachlorobenzene, Cox said, "a pretty nasty chemical"
that causes cancer.

NCAP helped win a
federal lawsuit in 1996 in which the court ordered the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to identify the ingredients of Tordon.

In another court
action involving Dow, Bates
et al v. Dow AgroSciences LLC, the Supreme Court upheld the right
of citizens (pesticide users) damaged by pesticides to sue and stated
that federal pesticide law does not offer adequate protection from “manufacturers
of poisonous substances.” (See Daily News
story.) Dow had argued that, because its products are registered by
EPA, chemical manufacturers should be shielded from litigation.

TAKE ACTION:
Avoid hazardous pesticides produced by Dow by rejecting their products.
Look for the Dow label on consumer products, including such items as pesticides,
bathroom cleaners, kitchen cleaners and furniture polish. For more information,
see Beyond Pesticides Dow Chemical Consumer
Campaign.